SPORTS presenter Kelly Cates enlists some of the nation's top athletes to challenge and inspire a group of typical Scots to get fit in a new series called Coached Off The Couch.

KELLY CATES'S life has always been immersed in sport. But the TV presenter has an aversion to gyms, hates running and was never interested in football growing up.

Now the daughter of Scottish sporting legend Kenny Dalglish is setting out to persuade Scots there are other ways to get active.

In a new series called Coached Off The Couch, Kelly, 36, persuades families to embrace more unusual activities such as surfing, wall climbing, archery, roller derby or geocashing to get fit.

Kelly and Mark Beaumont with the Campbell family

“It doesn’t have to be about pounding away on a treadmill and being dull,” she said. “Many people are put off by gyms, which can be boring and expensive, but there are so many other things you can do.”

The mother of two little girls, Gabriella, four, and 14-month-old Milla, Kelly also works as a sports presenter and was one of the faces of Channel 4’s successful Paralympic reporting team.

What little spare time she has is precious.

She said: “It makes sense to do stuff that is a nice day out rather than kill ourselves to get to Olympic standards. I’m not someone who goes to the gym all the time or only eats salad, and the series shows families taking part in things they can do together.

“The programme is not bossy or hectoring and lecturing, and is meant to be very gentle and say to people, ‘Look, we have this amazing country that produces a lot of sportsmen and women and it’s all here for you to enjoy too’.”

Kelly enlists some of the nation’s top athletes to challenge and inspire a group of typical Scots to get fit.

But she is more aware than most of the difference between elite athletes and ordinary people having fun. Growing up, while dad Kenny was busy becoming Scotland’s most capped player of all time, Kelly was turned off by anything sporty.

“I did the typical girl thing when I reached teenage years and thought, ‘This early morning and after-school thing is really not for me’,” she said.

“It was my dad’s job but sport wasn’t something we did as a family. Dad went to work but it wasn’t part of our family life because mum’s not sporty.”

But since her mum Marina’s breast cancer diagnosis in 2003, health has never been more important to Kelly.

Born in Glasgow, Kelly studied at Glasgow University and considers Scotland home, despite spending much of her childhood in Southport while dad Kenny was manager at Liverpool FC.

The eldest of four children, younger brother Paul played for Wigan and sister Lynsay studied sports science, but Kelly says she and her youngest sibling, Lauren, were the least sporty growing up.

Now Kelly is keen to keep her family active – with the emphasis on fun.

It’s a philosophy she promotes in the six-part STV series, which is sponsored by the Daily Record and the Scottish Government.

Families get the help of Scotland’s greatest champions, including David Wilkie (swimming), Liz McColgan (athletics), Catriona Matthew (golf), Mark Beaumont (cycling), Graham Randall (judo), Scott Hastings (rugby), Alex Arthur (boxing) and Gary Innes (shinty), to try new sports. In addition, a host of junior champions and Commonwealth hopefuls are also on hand to encourage and inspire the volunteers.

Catriona Matthews and Kelly with members of the Cockburn and Kennedy families

“These elite sportsmen and women taking part are helping to show us how their sport is accessible to everyone,” Kelly said.

“If you want to get super fit you can, but equally it could just be something to get you out and have fun.”

As well as mainstream sports, the families tried more unusual activities.

They include a group of nursery nurses from Dundee who tried roller derby, a family from Livingston who took up salsa dancing, a Peterhead family surfing in the bracing North Sea and an East Lothian family geocashing, a type of treasure hunt.

While the families were sent off to explore ways of getting fit, Kelly admits that she finds it hard to squeeze activity into daily life.

Living in London with Tom, her television producer husband, the couple juggle work and caring for their children between them. Kelly added: “I counted back recently and Tom and I hadn’t had a day off together for about two months.

“At the moment I definitely don’t have the chance to do something every week but from next summer, when the baby starts nursery and my eldest is in school, I have this lovely vision that life will be much simpler.”

Kelly knows this is a juggling act that many parents struggle with.

She said: “Tom and I work shifts and when we’re home with the girls we’re normally on our own. But we try and do as much as we can with them, getting them up, dressed and out of the house soon as possible.

“It’s not just about fitness. I feel a lot better if I just get some fresh air.

“Even if it’s not sunny you’re getting some kind of sunlight on you and it cheers you up a bit. Sometimes the harder it is to do and the less that you want to do it, the better it is for you.

“Running about the park with children may not be enough to make a huge difference to your fitness but it’s more about getting out and it’s all you can do when they’re tiny.

“Gabriella has a little bike but she can’t even be bothered to pedal, let alone keep up,” laughs Kelly.

“It’s all about small goals. I understand completely when people say it’s hard to be active when you work, have kids to look after and, by the time you get home at night, you are meant to make a healthy dinner.”

The series includes a couple of teenage girls – statistically the least likely to exercise.

“We know how good sport is for young girls, it boosts their self-confidence and self-esteem, so to be able to give them something they can go and enjoy, and keep up, was important to me, especially since I have two little girls of my own,” she said.

But Kelly’s own perfect activity involves a leisurely bike ride and a stop for lunch.

“I love cycling and I love the idea of cycling along by the river, stopping at the pub, and then cycling back.

“It’s about doing stuff that fits in with you life and makes it better rather than a chore.”